Tag Archives: The Grid

With Qualifying for the opening round of the 2017 F1 World Championship just hours away Red Bull Racing’s Chef Aerodynamics Engineer Dan Fallows sat down with Mobil One’s The Grid to explain the new technical regulations for the season ahead and the intentions behind them.

Flying in the face of many commentators and his own team principle Fallows is speaks highly of the returning shark fin aerodynamic element for 2017. Many detractors including senior leadership within Formula One Management sought to remove the fin ahead of the season opener.

Ahead of the 2017 F1 season former team owner turned pundit Eddie Jordan has suggested he would his response to Lewis Hamilton’s decision to back up Nico Rosberg in the final race of the 2016 season in a bid to secure his 4th World Championship would not have been as forgiving as that of Toto Wolff and the Daimler management board.

Never one to shy away from a headline, in this 2017 preview for Mobil One’s The Grid, Jordan comments on the departure of his good friend Bernie and the new start of a new era with Liberty Media.

Despite questioning Lewis’ approach to 2016, suggesting his lost focus, Jordan predicts he will be the favourite going into 2017. On Bottas, Jordan suggests 3-4 wins could be possible but questions his ability to push Lewis through the season.

With the final day of pre-season testing for the 2017 Formula One season came the terrible news of John Surtees passing. It was on with a sombre feeling current drivers reflected on their memories of the true racing legend, of how he inspired them, and the times they had spent together.

As the weekend passed many have spoken about his record of being the only person to hold championships on both two and four wheels, something almost incomprehensible in motorsports today, but how many of us actually know the history behind such an achievement? Speaking to Mobil One’s The Grid John Surtees in his own words reflects on his career and what lead him to transition from two to four wheels in the first place. Sir Sterling moss goes on to detail the sheer drive and passion John Surtees applied to life.

I can’t claim to know a great deal about the history of sport beyond that which I have lives through, so for me this film gave a fascinating insight into a time in motorsport I can only dream of. The purity and passion of motorsport at this time is something current drivers and the sport in general should aspire towards.

After 2 weeks of intensive Formula One testing, the motorsport fans may be craving a bit of real open wheel to wheel action this weekend. Fear not! Indycar is here to satisfy your needs with the 2017 season getting under way at the famous street come airport circuit coming from St Pete!

Mobil One’s The Grid, preview this weekends racing and the season in prospect, with fantastic insights from the likely title contenders. With F1 drivers talking about increase fitness requirements to master their 2017 contenders, with retired World Champion Nico Rosberg referring to his former peers as gladiators, it’s worth remembering that Indycar drivers have to cope with heavier cars with no power steering! With Nico’s new found spare time perhaps he should head state side to see real gladiators at work!

Heading into the second and final pre-season test ahead of the 2017 Formula One World Championship confidence is sky high on Daniel Ricciardo’s side of the Red Bull Racing Garage. From the bold ‘My time’ statement made by the Australian in his latest helmet design to his confident demeanour in recent interviews, Ricciardo is projecting the air of a driver destinted to challenge for the drivers crown this season.

In his first in depth interview for Mobil One’s the Grid, Ricciardo speaks candidly about his expectations for the season ahead and why he believes 2017 will be his year.

It’s been quite the day in the world of F1. Mercedes AMG Petronas have confirmed contract extensions for F1 team shareholders Toto Wolff and Niki Lauda, cementing their positions with the team until 2020.

Spanish Insurance giant Mapfre have confirmed a new partnership with the Renault Sport F1 team, the partnership will see Mapfre branding feature on the nose and wings of theRS17 and on the helmet and overalls of Jolyon Palmer.

and Mobil One’s the grid have released complete steering wheel perspective footage of Daniel Ricciardo’s demonstration run at the ExxonMobil HQ.

For the news obsessed F1 fan, February 20th should be regarded as a more than satisfactory day, but by far and away the biggest news of the day came from the Circuit de Barcelona – Catalunya. Whilst other circuits are announcing payment plans to pay for F1 tickets in instalments, the home of the Spanish Grand Prix is offering entry to F1 testing in exchange for blood donations. Donation points will be set up around the circuit throughout the two pre-season tests, the circuit is working in collaboration with the Catalonian blood and tissue bank for the campaign. In Catalonia, it takes 1,000 blood donations a day to cover the needs of hospitals. In general, anyone who is in good health, who is of legal age, weighs more than 50 kilos and, in the case of women, who is not pregnant, can donate blood. Three people benefit from each donor, since the blood is separated into three components: white blood cells, red blood cells and platelets.

Speaking to Mobil One’s The Grid, Williams Martini Racing’s new signing Lance Stroll explores the history of the team he will be taking to the grid with for the first time in Melbourne in March this season.

Fellow Canadian Jacques Villeneuve was the last driver to claim the F1 driver championship with Williams in 1997, a year before Lance Stroll was born. Whilst Lance is realistic about his chances of emulating Villeneuve in his first season of F1, this is the ultimate goal.

Putting into words how it feels to be on the cusp of his first season in Formula One is no simple task, Mobil One’s The Grid will be catching up with Stroll later in the season to see how he is getting on.

With Williams releasing images of the FW40 this morning on social media, the reality and enormity of the season ahead will be starting to set in!

Red Bull Racing and Daniel Ricciardo recently completed a demonstration run at the ExxonMobil head office in Houston with Mobil One’s the grid there to film all the action. In this first public event between Red Bull Racing and ExxonMobil staff and guests were treated to a series of demonstration laps in the infamous Red bull Racing show car.

Fans of F1 livery design will note this is the first official time ExxonMobil branding, in the form of Mobil One, Esso & Exxon have been seen on a Red Bull Racing F1 car. The positioning replicates that of the teams previous fuel and lubricant supplier. It is highly likely that the livery seen in this demonstration run will be the livery the team use across 2017.

Getting behind the wheel of any racing machinery after the long winter break is always a thrill for F1 drivers, Ricciardo’s joy in taking part in this event (despite the temperatures) is clear for all to see!

As the season gets underway it is expected that similar to other sponsors transitioning from rival teams to Red Bull Racing, ExxonMobil will be keen to embrace the party lifestyle of the brand in a bid to engage with a younger demographic. It will be interesting to monitor how this evolution in Formula One activation by the brand takes shape.

From a business to business perspective, Red Bull Racing don’t (yet) have an automotive manufacturer backing the team, a typical B2B partnership opportunity for a Fuel & Lubricant supplier. The form of partnership we can expect Red Bull and ExxonMobil will be around the Energy drink becoming a prominently displayed / preferred beverage in all Esso / Exxon service stations in the months and years to come.

18 year old Jehan Daruvalamight not be a house hold name just yet, but his success on the British & European Go Karting scene and Formula Renault 2.0 over the past two season’s alongside the likes of 2016 Mclaren Autosport BRDC Award Winner Lando Norris, suggest he could be name to watch out for in the coming years.

Finishing 3rd in Sahara Force India “One in a Billion” programme in 2011. A campaign which saw bought together and nurtured the greatest racing prospects across India. Jehan relocated to the UK to pursue a full time career in motorsport. Jehan remains a firm part of the Sahara Force India academy as they support his development through junior categories with a long term ambition which will see him take to the wheel of an F1 car.

Earlier this month Jehan announced he will join Carlin Racing for the 2017 season, taking part in the European F3 championship. A championship which over the past two seasons has become more of a feeder series to F1 than GP2 with Max Verstappen, Esteban Ocon, and Lance Stroll head to the F1 following their success in the ultra competitive championship. Could Jehan sit alongside Esteban Ocon with Sahara Force India in 2018? Only time will tell.

As the Mclaren Honda team head into the final race of the 2016 Formula One World Championship, Mobil One’s the grid caught up with a few key players within the team to discuss the importance of teamwork.

Race engineer Tom Stallard give a fantastic explanation around team mater rivalry, commenting it is the teams role to find the optimal set up to allow both drivers to perform at their peak, a performance advantage found by one driver or by one half of the garage in set up, leaving the other driver behind is not how to go racing. Rather Mclaren seek to give both drivers the best possible chance to perform.

Mclaren Honda will see a huge overhaul in the team dynamic over the winter break, with a new CEO joining the team in Zak Brown, and a revised driver line up. Finding success in these destabilising times will be a huge challenge for the team. For now their focus will be ending 2016 on a high and giving Jenson Button the sign off to his racing career that he deserves.